#anyways give them flowerfalls

[lennjamin-o7]

i don't think i have it in me to watch philza minecraft's too many hours hardcore streams, so I'm just curious- how does he do lore for his hardcore series?

I can give you the info I know, and I am 100% certain there are people who can give more thorough explanations and/or correct me. @rakkuntoast is someone on tumblr who I know is much more informed than me about Philza lore.

Most of Philza's hardcore streams are him building these massively cool builds. But, the Lore of the series is that he is more of an archeologist or historian, discovering these locations and the story behind them.

A lot of the Lore is delivered by him explaining and narrating the story of the world as he builds. Occasionally, he will go through the whole story of the world for new viewers who don't already know. And sometimes, happy accidents or jokes just become a part of the story.

The main lore is this.

The Enderking, a God who ruled the End, was greedy and thought he deserved to be in control of everything, so he set about stealing everything for himself.

He tried to pull in parts of the Nether, but was stopped by the Blaze Empress, goddess of the Nether. Part of the Nether is still affected by this tussle, seen in the Nethervoid build. Also, during this clash, two of the Blaze Empress's BEST warriors known as He and She were separated. They were in love, but never confessed to each other their feelings. Now they are just lava pools, separated forever. (He and She were added because Kristin convinced Phil to put a smiley face in a lava pool and the Lore sprung from there).

Then, there is Flowerfall. Flowerfall was the home of the Ocean Overlord (Affectionately called Ocean Himbo by the Crows and I had to actually google what his title was because I couldn't think of it other than Himbo). The Ocean Overlord was a god of, well, the ocean. He lived in this massive underwater palace. When the Enderking was stealing parts of the world, the Ocean Overlord was asleep. He was asleep through the whole War, actually. And the Enderking nearly ripped his house out from under him! It was only another deity, Rose, who stopped the Enderking from stealing the Ocean Overlord's house.

The Gods (Minus beloved Himbo) fought against the Enderking and kicked him out of their realms. I'm not remembering exactly, but I think that in this tussle and the return of the Ocean Overlord's home, the sea flooded the End, creating Endlantis (someone correct me on this, if its wrong). The Enderking was slain (however, he's a god so he's not REALLY dead). His corpse lies underneath Endlantis, always possible that he could return.

There are a ton of details that are added onto this, but those details are really only fleshed out in one-off moments within Phil's streams. Like, Phil adding a tree at Spawn where the Blaze Empress and Rose send each other gifts and messages because they are such good friends (Crows know they are gal pals, even if Phil doesn't confirm it). Others are derived from accidents like the Battle of Endlantis, which was where multiple dragons were accidentally spawned, and Phil had to kill them off. Or when Phil lost his trident in the void, he made it big and existant in the newest season as if it had transcended dimensions.

There are other gods that we haven't been introduced to, as well. I think there are 2 more that he hasn't named. However, yeah, its kind of hard to keep up with all of the Lore if you aren't able to constantly watch it. I know there is a really good video of Philza explaining his Hardcore Lore to, I THINK, Slimecicle? But I couldn't find it. If anyone knows where it is, please link yes!

Anyways, I hope that answered your question 💚💚💚💚

[isa-ghost]

Could I mayhaps have some hc!philza headcanons? Could be him in his hardcore, or how his time in hardcorr affects him now maybe? :D

OUGH YES.

So these will be operating off the theory that qPhil is hcPhil with his memory fucked up by the Federation. I'm gonna aim for "pre island, this is how qPhil was" but we'll see what happens as I actually write these LOL

What if I call these Pre-Dilf Edition in the masterlist SKFJSKFJSKFHF

10/10 would read the hardcore deity set I did recently to go with these :D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

He either had a flawless sleep schedule (early to bed early to rise ass mf) or no sleep schedule at all (spending 3+ nights hyperfocused on smth). It made for a very loopy Phil sometimes, which his murder of crows very much enjoyed

This man can fit so much joy and whimsy in him. Everything is awesome, everything is a breathtaking work of art and everything is decades of rich history to uncover. He loves life, he loves the passage of time, he loves teaching the murder about what he finds & restores

That's his main hobby besides being a survivalist, restoration and an informal form of archiving. He sketches the builds, takes notes on the deities, adds his own little touches to each place to make it a little prettier

He could fly for hours. Sometimes he'd fly aimlessly into late into the night, too immersed in sight-seeing and chatting with the murder

He had little altars in Flowerfall, Nether Void & Greater Spawn Islands for OO, BE, and Rose respectively. He'd leave little shiny things, trinkets that made him think of them, offerings like cooked fish or blaze rods or flowers in little offering bowls. Just as a nice, more direct way of giving them thanks for creating something so beautiful and allowing him to restore it to its former glory

He fucking loves swimming and fishing and hanging out at Endlantis, he'd just very aggressively avoid the cave that is EK's tomb. It was extremely haunted, he never got good vibes down there

He sometimes considers making his own remarkable build as a sort of "I was here, I too am a mark upon this history" but looks at his house and is like "mmmmbetter not" (he's an idiot, he could 100% build something cool, just probably not on the scale of the builds the gods have created. He'd probably create it for Goddess of Death, not even himself 💀)

Obligatory gapple addiction mention. It didn't start because of the murder, but he definitely used them as an excuse to further indulge once he started devoting eating one to the crows who'd been in the murder for a year. He never really had a reason to quit, or worry about the addiction, so he never experienced negative effects from it. Gapples aren't exactly harmful, just.. tinged with just enough magic to infect the brain. (He never experienced withdrawal misery on QI bc the Feds wiped his memory so his body had no idea it should be having a bitch fit =) )

Semi-related, he loved the days where he and the murder lacked the motivation and focus to do restoration things so they'd just fuck off in a random direction for ages and go on loot sprees. Nothing more exciting than hunting for more god apples :D

He started out liking fishing. The murder got too obsessed and it became the bane of his existence. But he loves the murder, so he does it anyway. Besides, he wouldn't trade chill talks with them for the world. :')

Btw he doesn't know this but it was equal parts the Ender King & the Feds ripping rifts between the universes that got him caught and taken to QI. EK didn't plan for that to happen, he just wanted to escape to a new reality to find a vessel to come back to power. Which is why once Phil was on the island, EK went "Fuck it, I'll use that asshole since he's not only compatible, but from the same plane of existence"

Mobs never scared him much (except Enderman) despite the fact that they were very dangerous and he's a survivalist. He was practically a mob whisperer, it's how he trapped trophy ones, made certain farms and why he was 99% fearless when farming charged creepers. QI has so many mobs he's never seen in his life that his chill instincts are suddenly like AAAWTFWTF

He never felt truly alone despite being the only humanoid. He felt like Rose was always with him, very rarely OO, and the murder ofc. He could understand them and he'd talk to them all day every day. Not only that, he had pets like Pog and Champ and there were quite a few times he'd humanize inanimate objects, which scientifically helps keep you sane in isolation such as survival. He always felt like he had Something to socialize with

That said, he IS still a bit weird socially on the island. Socializing with humans is way different than crows, other animals, gods, and objects.

Btw Ian is God of Chaos (a lesser god like Goddess of Death) and other mods like Birder, D3 & Wolfy are notably larger or perhaps a different species of corvid that hang out among the murder :D

[cainluvr69]

"Willfully Playful" Owen SSR Card Story - The Flowerfall Game Hall, With You ~ Invitation for Owen

the recordings for this were provided by known owen yume dante!

✦✧☾✧✦

Cain: Oh, here you are.

Akira: Owen!

Owen: Munch munch…

Mithra: Owen, those people have something they need from you.

Owen: What do you want…? In case you can't tell, I'm in the middle of something right now.

Cain: Are you two eating dinner together? It's definitely that time of night when you start getting hungry.

Owen: This is my tart. I'm not giving you any.

Mithra: I don't want anything but meat, anyway.

Akira: No, we're not here to eat… Owen, it's going to be your birthday soon, so I wanted to invite you to the Flowerfall Game Hall.

Owen: The Flowerfall Game Hall… Oh, that mini playground thing. An old friend of Shylock's made it a fancy place to play around in. I think.

Cain: If you already know about it, that'll make this faster. Akira wants to escort you there to celebrate your birthday. You can get there through this miniature of a door.

Akira: Will you accept my invitation, Owen? I'll escort you properly, so you can have a fun time and stuff…!

Owen: Hmmm. If I get to have fun there, does that mean I can mess it up as much as I want?

Akira: Huh?! Um, it's not mine, so I'd prefer if you didn't go wild in it…

Mithra: Munch. You might as well go.

Owen: Hey. You just took some of my fruit.

Mithra: There's not enough meat and I'm hungry. That little playground wasn't too bad of a place, you know. There was a place that I thought you might enjoy too, maybe. I only saw it while I was riding on horseback through the sky, though…

✦✧☾✧✦

According to Mithra, he'd seen what sounded like a European-style house standing in a dark corner of the grounds. It sounded a whole lot like some kind of scary haunted house-like attraction.

Cain: Now that you mention it, I think I saw a place like that too when we were high enough up. I remember thinking that just that one part of the park looked creepy and weird…

Owen: Oh? And here I was thinking it'd be nothing but kid's toys all lined up together.

Akira: (That's the kind of thing Owen's interested in…?!) Um… If you want to go there, I'd be happy to take you there! I'm a little scared of things like that, but I can ask Shylock about it and get ready for it…

Owen: You don't need to do that. Hey, how do we go to this Game Hall?

Akira: Oh, um, write your name on the invitation and then recite your spell, and the door will open. I do have an invitation already prepared…

I presented the invitation, and with a flourish of magic, Owen pulled a pen out from thin air and smoothly wrote his name down on it.

Akira: Huh?

Cain: What, you want to go there right now?

Owen: Might as well.

Owen grinned broadly at me and Cain, both of us wide-eyed.

Owen: There's nothing I love more than people's faces twisted in fear, screams ripped from their throats. <Cure Memini>

The invitation began to flicker with light, and the door to the Game Hall began to open. The entire area was draped in mist.

✦✧☾✧✦

When the mist cleared up, we were standing in a place that looked a lot like an amusement park, with rides all around us.

Akira: We're really just here now… But I'm glad you accepted my invitation, Owen. Thank you so much. That outfit suits you wonderfully.

Owen: I guess this outfit isn't horrible or anything. Even if it did put itself on me without permission.

One aspect of the Flowerfall Game Hall's hospitality was giving the person invited into it an outit that suited them perfectly.

Owen: More importantly. We don't need anything from the fluffy, frilly place. Where's that haunted house?

Akira: Ah, hold on…!

Owen was on his broom before I knew it, and I was left chasing after him. Before long, however, we arrived at the house we'd been told about.

Owen: So this is it.

Just as we'd heard, this was the only part of the park that the sun didn't reach, shrouding it in a sinister, unearthly air. There were even strange animal cries from something just out of sight.

Akira: This feels really…real… This is the only part of all the fancy scenery that feels out of place…

Owen: Why are you just standing there? Didn't you say you were going to escort me? I'm looking forward it. Come on, let's go in already.

Akira: O-okay…!

Owen pushed me forward, a faint smile dancing on his lips, and I tamped down all my fears and opened the door. The inside of the manor was even darker than it was outside, and there was an unpleasant chill in the air. My eyes darted back and forth over things I couldn't quite see as I took a single, fearful step forward.

Akira: It's pretty dark… Owen, be sure to watch your feet… …Huh? I feel like I just stepped on something soft…

Owen: It's just a bunch of fabric. Maybe someone's scattered clothing?

Akira: Oh, you're right. But whose clothes are these…?

As those words were coming out of my mouth, something wrapped around my ankle.

Akira: ?!

✦✧☾✧✦

I started to panic and looked down--and immediately met the eyes of a face staring at me from within the fabric confines of the fallen clothing. Its eye sockets were sunken and hollow, and its bones rasped hollowly against one another as it opened it mouth.

Skull: Wel…come…

Akira: Waugh!!

Owen: Ahaha. Aren't you so happy? It's welcoming you. Come on, we're still standing in the door. Don't just stand there looking stupid, get yourself in already.

Akira: D-don't push on me like that…wahh, those paintings are laughing!

I was surrounded on all sides by frightening phenomena, but I still pressed forward, timidly though it was. There was a blood-red door laying in wait for us at the end of this dark and decrepit hallway. Even its very form, the curves of its handle, the carvings in the wood, was ominous. I was on edge. More on edge than I'd ever been before.

Akira: Ahh… There's definitely something lurking behind this…

Owen: Are you scared?

Owen tilted his head, watching me carefully. His mismatched eyes gleamed with a dark light, one that threatened to swallow me up.

Owen: I'm having a lot of fun right now, you know. If you say you hate it here, are we going to turn back?

Akira: …N-no…it's fine…

And then I heard a sound from above us--and when I looked up, something was falling from the ceiling.

Akira: …Watch out!

Owen: !

The second after I grabbed Owen's hand and pulled him out of the way, several skeletons swung down from above us, hanging suspended in the air.

Akira: …Huh? I thought they were going to hit us…

Owen: …Ahaha! You were the one who told me to watch out. Should someone as cowardly as you be saying the one saying that here? …But that's a lovely expression on you. Pale, desperate, and completely pathetic.

Owen's face drew close to mine, like a snake scenting its prey. His voice was as sweet and heavy as honey as he slowly, slowly reached his hand towards me.

Owen: Let me see that face as much as I want today, okay?

With a smile as seductive as an anglerfish's lure, Owen pushed the bloody door at my back open.

✦✧☾✧✦

Akira: Haah… Haah… We're finally out…

Owen: Oh, that was odd. What was that last scream? I haven't even heard anything like that from a crazed hen.

Akira: But, but, a severed head rolled down the stairs, and it startled me…!

Owen: You're such a wimp. If you get so scared by everything that comes at you like that, you'll need an extra heart for when your first one gives out. Oh, what a laugh. Just remembering it is getting to me.

I could see tears in the corners of his eyes. It felt like his laughter was more…open and genuine than it usually was. All his defenses were down.

Akira: (I don't think I've ever seen Owen laughing like this before.) (It was a heck of an adrenaline rush, but I'm glad I committed to doing this…)

It was pretty scary, but I was still happy to see Owen enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart. It made me want to say it to him one more time.

Akira: …Happy birthday, Owen. I hope this year is a wonderful one for you.

Owen: …

When Owen turned his gaze to me, something white started falling from the sky.

Akira: Ah…

Owen: What is this. Flower petals?

When the Flowerfall Game Hall had satisfied the heart of the person who'd been invited into it, the exit door would open, and this rain of flower petals was the cue. We were wrapped in a pale mist, our vision fading to white.

✦✧☾✧✦

Mithra: Oh, they're back.

Cain: Woah, they are! Welcome home, you two.

It took hearing Mithra's voice for me to realize we were back in the dining hall. Cain rushed over to us, looking worried.

Cain: I was starting to get worried you'd never come back. Um…did everything go okay?

Akira: Ahaha. It did, somehow…

Owen: Hm?

Owen tilted his head to one side and looked me over.

Owen: They didn't come back with us. And they suited you so well.

Akira: What do you mean by "them"…?

Owen: You had so many hands gripping onto you. On your shoulders and your arms. Hands of bone, and hands of flesh and blood.

Akira: …What?! Y-you're kidding, right…?!

I felt the blood drain from my face as I swatted at my arms and shoulders to make sure nothing was there, but Owen just grinned at me, looking as satisfied as he would stuffing an extra helping of dessert into his mouth.

Owen: Well now. Who knows?

Sub Story: The Whereabouts of the Stolen Meat

Akira: Oh, good evening, Owen. I see you're eating alone tonight.

Owen: What do you mean, "tonight".

Akira: When I came to give you the invitation to the Flowerfall Game Hall a while ago, you were eating with Mithra… I feel like I see the two of you together a lot.

Owen: That's just coincidence. That time he was only there because he was trying to steal the fruits off my fruit tart. So the next day I stole the meat he was going to have for dinner as payback and we almost killed each other about it. It's not like I'm ever around him because I want to be.

Akira: You two do tend to try to kill each other if you're around each other for too long…

Owen: Well, you know how it is. But about when we tore a hole in the roof, the twins suddenly popped out. They said whoever started it was the one in the wrong, so Mithra was the only one who got lectured about it. And he made that face he always does when he's like, "Hahh?" It was so funny.

Akira: Ahaha… That sounds like a very lively dinner. By the way, did you eat the meat that you stole, Owen? Although I honestly can't really picture you eating that kind of thing…

Owen: I would have, but the idea of eating something Mithra had been rubbing his grubby hands all over is disgusting. Who knows where he's been and what he's been touching. So I gave it to Sir Knight.

Akira: You gave it to Cain?

Owen: Yep. It's more like I forced it on him, actually. Like how you throw stuff into the trash? Like that. It's what he's there for. He gave me some sweets from a new shop in the capital as thanks. He acts all upright and proper about the weirdest things.

Akira: (He says that, but he looks pretty happy about it…) (Knowing he enjoyed himself at the Game Hall and that he had another good day right after makes me happy too, though.)

[batfossil-fr]

had a dream they gave ancients flowerfalls in this update PLEASE god please give them something floaty

[dramarising-replacement]

flight stereotypes, from a guy who's only ever been in 1

i am sure you will be able to guess which one

earth: youre rich as fuck, you are a dom tryhard (or reaping the benefits of being in the dom tryhard flight), and you intimidate me. i feel like you guys arent as close-knit as people probably think, but like, if you saw each other on the street you would exchange a knowing nod. your lairs are either all gem-gened g1s with 20 billion UMAs, or complete chaos.

fire: your forums are dead, your discord is dead, your flight is tiny. theres like 3 other people in fire other than you and you probably dont know them. you guys dont give a shit about dom but you wish you did. you dont give a shit about aesthetic either but each individual dragon looks really nice. you guys are usually really chill though and you have good vibes.

wind: holy shit you guys are everywhere, especially in the art and skins/accents forums. somehow everyone in wind knows each other even though your flight is massive. you lean into that wind aesthetic super hard and your lore's themed around it too. you're either really chill, or the most hyper person in existence. 

water: your god is fucking dead, and you wont let anyone forget about it. your lore is probably immaculate and you have a nice aesthetic going with the blues and greens. i feel that if you tried to convince your friends to join water theyd all say no. generally though you guys are really mysterious. what are you up to? spill your secrets water, im waiting.

lightning: you guys really want to be in the big leagues when it comes to dom. you swoon over the lightning aesthetic and you love chemistry or physics (or just blowing stuff up) irl, but you hate your god. a lot of you guys are uptight as hell and kinda closed-off, but most of you seem nice. i like you guys, but you should chill out a little.

ice: from november to february every year, im imagining you guys throwing parties in the ice discord. you love the ice aesthetic, you love winter, you love your community, you're just loyal to ice all the way. you guys are like wind, except even more close-knit, and i feel like ice and wind are either really close, or you guys have a playful rivalry.

shadow: i am 100% certain that a solid third of you are 13 years old. you guys are EDGY edgy but you lean into it and honestly i gotta respect it. you wish you were good at dom and you wish you had more shadow primals, which is definitely your favourite eye type. you guys are nice but i imagine your discord is pure fucking chaos.

light: im gonna be 1 million with you guys rn, a lot of you are kinda toxic. youre about as tryhard-y as earth, except four times as big, and you probably shittalk earth in the discord. you love silks, flowerfalls, coatls, selling high-demand apparel items for 500g, and buying UMAs with the aforementioned 500g six seconds after it sells.

plague: i feel like you guys are really close-knit despite the size of your flight. like you guys scare the shit out of me ngl but i bet your discord is the nicest place ever, and i feel like a lot of you are either based af or total sweethearts. you play up the aesthetic and the edge to 11 and its super entertaining when you do, please keep doing it.

nature: are you guys ok? i feel like youre the opposite of plague, in that nobody hates nature more than nature does. if youre in nature you need a hug and probably a therapist. youre gay and wish you could shapeshift irl. also you guys should do dom more often, simply because "grrr nature flight is scary now" would be hilarious.

arcane: youre a teenager and/or you used to be the "i wanna be a wizard when i grow up" kid. youre queer as all hell. your forums are dead but your discord is moving a mile a minute. your lair has zero aesthetic but thats ok because each dragon looks cool, and you have 247568 dragons anyways. also dom? whats that, ive never heard of it.

[scarletaire]

flowerfall

A/N: Not my usual Jurdan fare, I know, but after reading A Sky Beyond the Storm, this fic poured out of me and I was helpless to stop it. Canon-divergent for Chapter LX, but mostly follows canon for everything after.

WARNING: Spoilers for A Sky Beyond The Storm!

Fandom: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Ship: Helene Aquilla x Avitas Harper

Genre/s: Fluff

Rating: T

Links: Masterlist | Read on AO3 

[Summary and tags under the cut because spoilers!] 

Description: 

When Avitas Harper falls, the Blood Shrike makes a deal with Death.  Snapshots of their life together after the war.

Tags: Harper Lives, Fix-It, Happy Ending, Helvitas Living Their Best Lives, We Stan One (1) Power Couple

_______

When Avitas Harper falls, the Blood Shrike makes a deal with Death.

It happens as Mirra of Serra takes her knife to Keris Veturia’s neck. The blood and the life leave her body, but the Shrike cannot revel in it, for her love is dead and cold in her arms.

How is it possible that she still had anything left to lose?

But of course, to love someone is both to gain and to lose a thousand pieces of the world all at once.

She roars in the face of it.

In the face of Death.

And this time, with the bridge between worlds on the brink of evisceration, Death answers.

I need power, says Mauth to anyone who will listen, weakened, and scrambling for any strength to beat back the storm. Power to fight.

The Blood Shrike has never heard the voice of Mauth before, but what he asks for is familiar. She knows all too well the pursuit of power, the search for anything to keep fighting. It is what she searches desperately for now.

Give him back, she orders Death with the voice of a girl who has still too much to lose, give him back, and I will give you the strength you need.

The power of the Star. The power of song and healing. The power of Rehmat, reborn again through the centuries and a thousand times in her blood.

Whatever it is, it will be enough.

It has to be.

The maw opens its jaws. The Nightbringer succumbs to the maelstrom. The Sea of Suffering overtakes the sky.

And Helene Aquilla sings her last song.

____

For a moment, there is only the storm. It surges through the escarpment, it rages across the cliffs, it consumes everything in its path.

For a moment, all is lost.

For a moment, she thinks that at least she didn’t have to wait long before following him.

And then, between one breath and the next, the maelstrom disappears.

Beneath her hand, Avitas Harper stirs.

____

In the end, her deal hadn’t mattered. It wasn’t Mauth that saved them all. It was Laia of Serra, because of course, of course, who else could have done it but her. Helene is full of a strange mix of pride and awe when she pulls Laia into a hug. The girl she once tried to kill, the girl who pieced together the broken world.

The once Beloved, the once Forsaken now rests in chains of mercy, and so the world continues on.

Mauth never speaks to her again.

Maybe because there is nothing she could possibly offer anymore. Maybe because the next time Mauth speaks to her, it will be at the end, when his words will be the last thing she will ever hear.

Briefly, she wonders what Death will do with the power she gave him. Then she thinks that it doesn’t really matter much to her, anymore.

____

She stands with Elias as they take in the bodies of their dead. They are spread out in lines across the forest floor. There are too many of them, Martial, Scholar, Tribal – it isn’t important anymore. They were divided in life. Today, they are united in the loss of it.

Above her, around her, the forest blooms alive, like a panacea for the death and destruction spilt upon the soil, blossoms of apricot and cherry and Tala filling the air with their sweetness, falling to the ground like colored snow.

It is a good thing, then, that Harper is alive. If she had lost him, truly lost him, then she would not have been able to bear the sight of flowers ever again.

____

It turns out dying and being brought back to life takes a toll on a human body.

“When will he wake?” she whispers into the quiet of the healer’s tent. “It’s been days.”

She knows the body lying still before her is merely asleep, but she remembers the way he had looked with all the life drained out of him, and it is a sight she will never forget.

“Give him some time,” Elias says. “Being resurrected by Death itself is no easy thing.”

She raises her eyebrow at him askance.

“I know a thing or two about being resurrected by Mauth.” He shrugs, and the movement is so familiar, so genuinely Elias that she feels the corner of her lips tilt. “Guess it runs in the family now.”

Avitas Harper wakes two days after.

She doesn’t give him a chance to get his bearings. The words are out of her lips before he can even try to sit up, like a song she can’t keep silent any longer. “I love you.”

He raises his fingers to her face, tracing the scars there like a benediction. “I got my wish.”

Emifal Firdaant.

She presses her palm against his hand, trapping it against her cheek. “With all due respect, Captain Harper, it was a bleeding stupid wish. So I did you the courtesy of vetoing it.”

When she kisses him, she feels like she can breathe again after a millennium of holding her breath.

____

When Mirra of Serra takes up the mantle of Soul Catcher, Helene watches the life return to Elias’s eyes, and the hope return to Laia’s.

The Bani al-Mauth turns to Harper. “I suppose I should thank you. For offering me shelter and safety in the bowels of Antium.”

“It was an honor, Lioness. You repaid me in kind when you helped the Blood Shrike through the tunnels.”

“And when you aided in the battle with Keris,” Helene adds.

Mirra scoffs, white hair dancing in the wind. “I worried that the Shrike wouldn’t be able to keep the secret to herself. Not like you. A mind like a steel trap, you have.” She slaps Harper once across the chest. He does a fine job of hiding his grimace as she knocks his healing wounds. “Think you’ll be a fine brother-in-law for my daughter.”

Elias splutters, Laia flushes, and Helene feels a laugh bubbling up in her chest for the first time in ages.

____

As their troops begin to file out of the Forest of Dusk, she sees the figures of two men talking under the shade of a tree. Elias is taller, but Avitas is older. And so it is he who holds out his hand for his brother to shake.

And it is Elias who takes it, but uses it to pull him into a hug instead. She sees Avitas’s back stiffen in surprise, but he doesn’t push him away.

“It shouldn’t have taken so long for this to happen,” Elias says. “I’m glad you’re alive, brother. I’m glad I wasn’t the one to have to pass you on.”

____

When Quin Veturius proclaims her Empress in front of the conclave of their people, her eyes immediately seek Harper.

Help me, she tries to convey. Knock the old man out before he actually convinces them.

“Stand strong,” he says aloud, instead, love and pride sparkling in his green eyes, “Empress.”

____

Later that night, when she sings Zacharias to sleep with a soft lullaby, her blood doesn’t sing with her. It’s silent, dormant. The air is empty with the ghost of her magic.

Leaning against the door a few feet away, Avitas has closed his eyes to listen, his lips curled up at the edges.

And it should feel like something has been stolen from her, but really, it feels more like a blessing than anything else.

____

She dances with Avitas at the Moon Festival in Nur, and the night is warm and they’re both still in armor, and neither of them really know how to dance properly anyway, but it is enough.

It is more than enough.

Skies, it’s more than she could have ever asked for.

He lifts his arm and she twirls under it, catching the twinkle in his eye, and suddenly, she wishes they weren’t in such a crowded place full of other people. Suddenly, she wishes they were alone, in a room, flushed and pressed up against each other just like this. Dancing a dance they both know the steps of far too well.

On her next twirl, she catches Musa’s eye, where he leans against a table, flirting with a pretty Scholar girl. He winks at her, as if he knows exactly where her thoughts have strayed.

She’s far too happy to be annoyed in any way, and so she almost sends him a wink of her own before Harper pulls her close against him again and the thought is forgotten.

____

It occurs to her later in the night, as the festivities draw to a close and she glimpses Musa walking back to his tent alone, that she had come far, far too close to understanding his loneliness in a way she hates to imagine.

____

At night, the Empress walks her city.

Avitas Harper walks with her.

The blue irises native to Antium are in full bloom, littering the ground.

One year, she thinks, as she cups her hand around a petal that floats down to her through the air. It’s been one year since the last flowerfall.

The one in which the world was broken. The one in which the world was remade.

____

Sometimes, she wakes thinking of her family. Of Livia, bleeding out in front of her son. Of her mother, father, Hannah. All of them, their throats cut, their lives lost, gone.

Sometimes, she wonders if they will hate her for bringing back her lover instead of one of them, any of them.

Sometimes, she wonders if she will ever forgive herself for any of it.

____

Avitas Harper, as it turns out, is a shockingly good babysitter.

The first time he gets Zacharias to sleep in under ten minutes, she chalks it up to dumb luck and good timing.

The second time it happens she almost kisses him despite the baby in his arms, too grateful for the peace and quiet after a long hour of listening to her nephew scream.

The third time it happens, she stares at him in disbelief.

“Did you bring back anything from the afterlife, maybe? Does Mauth have supernatural baby-charming magic that we don’t know about?”

He flashes her that half-smile that she feels underneath her skin.

Her next decree, she decides, will be outlawing all attractive men in armor from holding adorable, sleeping babies. It should be absolutely illegal by now, the sheer power of the sight before her.

____

She may be the Empress, but she is a soldier first and foremost.

When the Karkauans hold hostage the Martial ambassador she had sent over to confer the peace treaty, she is first in line for the mission to take him back.

“It’s not over yet,” she tells her men, when all efforts at neutral negotiation fall through. “I’m most dangerous when I’m cornered.”

Harper stands strong at her side. Her Blood Shrike, always watching. “That makes two of us.”

They march together into the fray.

____

The next Moon Festival, Mamie Rila finally succeeds in shoving her into a dress.

She puts up a good fight, doesn’t go down easy. In the end, it takes the combined forces of Laia, Afya, and an exasperated Mamie Rila to wrangle the Empress into the thin, strappy excuse for a gown.

“What is this supposed to be, a slip? Where’s the rest of it?”

Laia furrows her brows. “What are you talking about? That is the rest of it.”

Helene gapes. “I can’t wear this. I’m the Empress. I can’t walk around looking like I’m one stiff breeze away from a public scandal!”

“If you ask me,” says Afya, “a public scandal might do you some good. Just the thing you need to convince some of those troublesome, barbaric Karkauans to ally with you like you’ve been planning.”

“Burning, bleeding hells.” Elias’s eyes go wide when he walks in. “Who are you and what have you done with the real –”

He chokes off as Laia elbows him in the gut. “Don’t listen to him. Or Afya. You look great. Harper will love it. Shall we get on with your hair?”

Helene rears back, because her hair is the last bastion of normalcy she has.

Harper looks like he's been stabbed in the heart a second time when he catches sight of her, and Helene vows to never wear a dress again.

But when his fingers find the hem of her skirt under the table, tugging first, testing the stretch of the fabric against the skin of her thigh, and then slowly inching under, and then up and up and up — well. Maybe dresses aren’t so bad after all.

____

Sometimes, when she walks, Laia is there beside her. There are some nights when the ghosts of the past seem to walk with them, too. This night, in Serra, is one of those nights. Spring has come, and the flowers here are different, cushioning the road on which they walk with bright yellow petals.

“I can’t forget their faces.”

Laia has never been a killer. But she has dealt her fair share of death during their war, and that leaves a mark on the soul that can never be burned away. The difference now lies in how one goes about dealing with those marks. No, Laia has never been a killer, even when she had to be.

Helene, on the other hand, has spent too much of her life wearing the skin of one, and so she speaks as much to herself as she does to her friend when she replies.

“And you won’t. Just don’t forget the ones you saved.”

____

The first time Zacharias speaks a full word, it’s in the middle of supply negotiations with Tribe Nasur. She has just been reunited with her nephew after months in the capital and so is making up for it by carrying and snuggling him everywhere she goes, even if it is to a highly political trade meeting.

Fortunately, Tribe Saif is in close relations with Tribe Nasur, and so no one throws dirty looks when the baby babbles nonsense right when someone tries to speak. The Fakira even smiles encouragingly when Helene begins to bounce him on her knee.

That’s when Harper enters behind her with a missive from Blackcliff.

“Empress.” His voice is warm, and she realizes that it’s because Zacharias has noticed him, and is dimpling up at him with his head tilted back in that way that only babies can do. “We have positive turnout for the new recruits at –”

“Hapa!”

The whole room stills, as if everyone understands the gravity of this moment. Helene feels a grin break across her face, and she realizes that this is a first for her, too. Her first real grin in so, so long, after so much pain. Harper’s large, brown hand comes over her shoulder to pat Zacharias’s downy head in gentle praise, and she forces herself to get it together in front of all these important Tribespeople.

The meeting goes on. But then, one little detail niggles at her, like a tiny pebble in her boot.

Later, when she’s pushing him against the side of an empty caravan, her lips maybe a little too punishing against the skin behind his ear, he has the gall to chuckle at her.

“Are you jealous? Because his first word was my name and not yours?”

And so Helene sinks to her knees and shuts him up the best way she knows how.

____

Once, and only once, Mirra of Serra, Bani al-Mauth, visits her on a balmy night. The snow is almost over, and the Empress stands at her balcony overlooking the grounds, singing a lullaby to a sleeping Zacharias. He is getting too big now, and so she relishes any moment with him while she can still carry him in her arms.

It is on a dying winter wind that the Soul Catcher comes to her, the white locks of her hair stark against the night. “So it was you. I should have known.”

Helene glances at her out of the corner of her eye. “Known what?”

Mirra casts her gaze out into the city, and beyond, seeing something that only the Chosen of Death can see.

“There is a song across the river,” she says. “In the Waiting Place. All the ghosts ready to pass on hear it. It gives them peace.”

Ah, Helene thinks to Mauth, even though she knows he isn’t listening, so you used my voice after all.

____

When flowerfall comes again, and she has lost count at this point, how many it’s been, Helene Aquilla does not need to walk outside to know.

The blue petals of her beloved city, so familiar now, drift across her window like rain. The air is sweet with the smell of it, and with all that the two of them had done during the night, tangled together in the sheets of her bed.

She lifts a hand to trace the outlines of the silver Mask on his face. He pulls himself out of his doze just enough to smile at her.

“I know I said I would never marry and have children and all,” she begins, and the words are slow like honey in her mouth, “and I stand by my vow as Empress. But the adjoining room to my chambers is empty and I was wondering if –”

“Yes.”

She blinks at the swiftness of his answer. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. How else will I keep you out of trouble, my love?”

And so their lives go on.

_____

End Notes: 

Thank you for reading!

I did not foresee ever writing for this fandom, but after that ending, writing this was the catharsis I needed. Now back to regularly scheduled programming! 😂

* Didn’t tag anyone for fear of spoilers, and also because I wasn’t sure if they’d be interested in non-Jurdan fic 🙈But if you’d like to be tagged in any future stuff, I’d be honored to do so! ❤️

[dramarising-replacement]

Flight Discourse.

Arcane: Total Tumblr rejects: whether this means "soft autistic spacegay uwu", an #aesthete who types in size one right centered pale pink cursive, "HAHA SPACE IS SO COOL (neil degrasse tyson quote)", or one of those people who roleplays their DDLG my little pony OC sex scene on your unrelated post depends on which one you talk to. All, unfortunately, are completely disorganized and borderline ADHD because they can't get a single thing together... except the Celestial Council, ahahahahahahaha

Earth: Now about 5% Facebook grandmas, 85% people piggybacking off their recent Dom success, and 10% people who were there all along for some reason who still believe they are the ""underdogs"" and are better than former champions Ice/Lightning/Plague/Light used to be because they have 5% Facebook grandmas and about 100 people in the whole flight. Can get their flight together for Dom but not for festivals, which are consistently below-average.

Fire: While Earth has their 5% Facebook grandmas, Fire consists of approximately 100% Facebook soccer moms-- the ones who post Minion memes. Or wine memes. Literally the most whitebread flight in existence, between their forgettable userbase, forgettable lore (dragons...that breathe FIRE), zero attempts to capitalize on their Dominance potential unlike fellow small flights Earth and recently Water, and absolutely horrendous ""meme"" Flambebes. I'm sorry, it's terrible. It's Flight Rising minions. Face it.

Ice: Catty rich bitches and accent/G1 whales. The kind of people who have an entire boring lair of color-coordinated gem-gened G1 Wildclaws with expensive accents and the exact same silk/flowerfall outfit. The kind of people who snipe G1 auctions after they've been sold. The kind of people who would secretly take you off G.A.S.P. so they have a shot at a new release. The kind of people who try and buy Kickstarter items with real FR cash on the black market. The kind of people who use the black market. Unfortunately, all the money in the world can't buy a win against Water, who at that point had not won a non-fest conquest in about two years.

Light: Sort of a horrible combination of Earth and Ice: not as good as Dom as Earth, not quite so many whales as Ice, but with an ego big enough for both of them and then some. Despite hosting a large contingent of horrible people, will defend all of them unilaterally because.... they don't like being criticized, and after all all Light members are sweet and innocent rays of sunshine!! Only Light is allowed to criticize people, considering their moaning on both DR and AR-- most users of both are Light. Most of the Dom vultures have flocked off after their humiliating loss to Earth, which is some small consolation, but it only goes to show the kind of people who are left. Interesting but underutilized lore and a wholly boring aesthetic means that if you don't like what Dom there is left or gossiping about other Flights there isn't much for you.

Lightning: They attempt to portray themselves as the "lore flight", but it's all so one-dimensional and repetitive (and a wholesale Portal ripoff) that they really have nothing going for them whatsoever. Eyes? Boring yet still somehow obnoxious on any non-matching dragon. Aesthetic? It's sand. Dominance? Hahahahahaha. That's literally all I can think of, which if you look at every other flight in this post is not a good thing. At least be memorably terrible, not boring terrible.

Nature: Nature is the nice flight. The caring flight. The succulents-and-kitty-cats flight. Sorry, wrong post. They're actually backstabbing cliquey adolescents who try and put up a cutesy front to bring in new members, which fails anyways because they are second-least-attractive after Earth. "These dragons are nice and like plants. But actually THEY HAVE A DARK SIDE OOOOOH" but so does every single other flight except like whitebread Fire so ???? who gives a damn. When they aren't R or those people who vehemently hate R and write essays about all the things that are wrong with R, they are the people who post dashboard-long screeds on animal abuse because someone posted a joke about bear racing and maybe some rich people will capture bears and ride on their backs I guess, which in my book is about on par with Rhea/anti-Rheas. Also the bunny mod is in here.

Plague: Used to be THE dom tryhards, but after their wholly embarrassing and pitiful fall from grace is now about 50% edgelords and 50% the whiniest losers on the face of the planet. Edgelords - You know the drill. Whether it's just dumb "teehee my dragons like BLOOD and drink BLOOD from BABIES" edgelording or straight up like borderline-alert-the-authorities-incest-rape-sex slavery-regular slavery-abuse-whatever-edgelording, Plague has it. Crybabies - You know them. It almost seems like they joined Plague to be personally victimized by every move the admins make, and in fact they did. Non-Plague venue? No gory accents? Shared lore with Nature? God forbid, zombies? These are all personal attacks on Plague and are signs that the admins literally wish they and their families were all dead.

Shadow: Shadow is entirely Plague edgelords except if they were all age 7 and this was their first time on Teh Interwebz XD. Actually, if their first time on Teh Interwebz XD was reading horribly bad creepypasta at their slumber party, and this was their second time. Their lore either attempts to be scary but fails miserably (creepypasta XD) or attempts to be funny and also fails miserably, because Shadow Isn't Funny. It isn't. Ever. Of course it isn't, because all of its members are literal children or timetravelers from 2007, when things such as cookies and drooling and le dark side might have been still novel and sort of cute. It is no longer 2007, and/or most people are no longer children. Also, that introduction post that people use to recruit is stupid and I hate it. Terrible eyes also.

Water: Water still manages to slip under the radar hatewise, so I don't have a good unifying theme for this one. Give me a year when they are probably the new Dom flight and I'll have something. Instead, have a collection of things: Their April Fools "jokes" peaked two years ago and have been going from semifunny to baffling. People who say Tidepappy make me want to rip out my tongue through my sinuses. Their forums are about as fast as a dead sloth. The "oooh water is so mysterious" is so constant that they are actually not at all mysterious and are actually just annoying. Horrid eyes. No Foddart this Wavecrest. Has like two or three mods when other flights have zero mods despite being like 10x bigger. Anyone remember that illiterate edgelord who was in Water who basically told someone to kill themself iirc???? ...Give me a year.

Wind: Wind is exactly the same as Shadow, but replace the creepypasta kiddos with an equal mixture of weeaboos and DeviantArt kiddos and the cookies with their stupid meme dog. Their eyes are better. Otherwise, go read Shadow.